Great! I’m glad to see you are getting some ideas. Keep us informed on your progress.
Before we were married, my wife’s balcony was a masterpiece of small gardening. She even had a small water feature. Container plants, hanging baskets, plants on stands, a chair and tiny table for coffee in the mornings, there was no wasted space.
I don’t know if Illinois has something like this, but in San Antonio, there is some group that helps people, especially seniors, to set up small space vegetable gardens on their patio. It was amazing to see how many things they planted on a little patio corner. I don’t recall the name of the group as I saw it on the local news several years ago.